Oxidative stress in individuals on different dietary patterns- A comparative study

Abstract

The major chronic disorders such as cancer, cardiac ailments and diabetes are global health burden and the dietary habits playing a significant role in setting these among other factors. There is an assumption that non-vegetarian diet produces more free radicals (FR) when compared to vegetarian food. However recent studies showed an equal contribution of FR injury in vegetarians too. The assessment of the FR markers may provide an analytical report in correlation with different dietary pattern.In this comparative study, the individuals (age group of 15 to 50 years) with their dietary habits of vegetarian (n=60) and of non-vegetarian diet (n=60), were included. The serum was analysed for the parameters, fasting blood sugar (FBS), Lipid Profile, MDA, IMA and oxidised LDL (oxLDL). The quantitative variables were analysed by appropriate statistical methods and the p value<0.05 is considered statistically significant.The comparative values are expressed as mean ± SD for vegetarians and non-vegetarian groups and it is evident that the FBS and lipid profile and oxLDL were statistically non-significant. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Ischemia modified albumin (IMA) are significantly raised in non-vegetarian group in comparison to the vegetarian group (p<0.05).Based upon the dietary patterns in the healthy individuals, the oxidative stress markers i.e. MDA, IMA are showed conspicuous difference and oxLDL is not significant. The ratio of IMA/MDA in non vegetarians has been considered for the intensity of the oxidative stress beyond the specified ratio (18.44).